Who invented Golf? The Scottish or the Chinese?

[KiltedSkeleton]

Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden?

[TheKiltedWonder]

Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden?

I wasn't sure if this was posted as a serious etymology. I've heard it a lot too, but it is false. Acronyms weren't really used as the basis for new words until the twentieth century (RADAR, SONAR, SCUBA, ATM), while golf is much older. The true etymology isn't known 100%, but I know there's a dutch word (i think it meant "club") that some people claim is the origin of the word "golf". However this isn't entirely agreed upon...

[Carolina Kiltman]

Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden?

This is one of those more recently made up acronyms possibly resulting from the controversey of a Country Club in Georgia in the news for not allowing women competitors. . . I got a lot of e-mail stating that this was the origin of the word. . . The best source I can find is the O.E.D. , and they state that it probably is from the old gaelic word meaning "to strike". I'm neither a golfer nor a fan, but have no quarrel with those who are I'll stick with Tolkein

[bikeolounger]

Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden?

...and here I always thought golf was flog spelled backwards...

[Jamais Arriere]

I was always told the Gentelmen Only Ladies Forbidden story

[KiltedSkeleton]

Yes, it was a serious question. I had heard that and was unsure wether it was true or not.

[Nick]

Yes, it was a serious question. I had heard that and was unsure wether it was true or not.

It's what's known as a 'backronym'. The word existed long before someone thought up an acronym for it, and so a false etymology.

[KiltedSkeleton]

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle.

[Galician]

While that video did look a little bogus to me, it is a fact that polo came from an ancient game played by Mongolian horsemen. It was often played after a victory in battle, when the defeated leader's head was used as the ball. Lacking that, they had to settle for a dead calf or someother animal.

Perhaps there was cross fertilization, as both the West and the Chinese adapted it independently after being invaded by the Golden Horde, to which the video referred.

[TheKiltedWonder]

Yes, it was a serious question. I had heard that and was unsure wether it was true or not.

Folk-etymologies seem to be a lot like kilt-myths: everyone knows a bunch ("rule of thumb" springs to mind) and it's hard to separate fact from fiction!

As for the actualy subject of this thread: this reminds me a lot of kilt discussions we've had on this board, where someone posits an older origin for the kilt or an origin not in Scotland; while some of the garments may be similar, they aren't actually kilts. Applying that logic to this, one would have to say that the Chinese didn't invent it, even if they had a similar game. As for the Dutch...